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Delta is rolling out a new on-board experience for passengers, that will allow them to view content from YouTube — including YouTube Premium and YouTube Music — on their airline’s in-flight entertainment (IFE) system.
First announced at CES in January, the partnership with YouTube adds a curated selection of the streaming site’s content to Delta’s existing offerings, which include Delta Studios for a wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and audiobooks, plus live TV from DirecTV and more entertainment options. The partnership also allows YouTube access via in-flight WiFi and mobile devices, starting on Thursday, Sept. 25.
According to Delta officials, traveling from point-A to point-B doesn’t have to be a bore anymore. While more and more people travel with their smartphones and tablets these days to pass the time, airlines like Delta are making sure passengers’ in-flight entertainment experience is just as smooth as the flight itself.
Delta’s Managing Director of Engagement & Optimization Sarah Downs says the airline has long been committed to ensuring that the in-flight experience mirrors consuming content at the theater — or at home. “We’re giving customers ways to enjoy content from their favorite studios in multiple ways from multiple screens, just like you might do at home,” Downs tells Variety, noting the “personalization of the seatback screen” through the airline’s ‘Delta Sync’ seatback experience.
Delta Sync is the airline’s feature that pairs with the company’s mobile app and your seatback display, providing up-to-the-minute information on your flight, arrival times, gate and baggage information and more. It even has a “continue watching” feature that lets you pick up where you left off if you’re making a connecting flight, but still want to finish TV episodes of “The Office,” “The Last of Us” and “Downton Abbey,” for example, or catch the end of movies, like recent Delta releases, “Sinners” and “Lilo & Stitch.”
“The ‘Continue Watching’ feature allows customers to continue watching flight over flight, so if you didn’t finish watching a movie on the first leg of your trip, you can pick it up after your layover, or on your return flight,” Downs explains. Delta Sync also offers a media recommendation engine that is “serving up content we think you’ll enjoy,” she says, “[and] creating a more seamless and connected experience from trip-to-trip.”
On a recent trip with Delta, we noticed the robust entertainment options with hit movies and TV shows across various genres and styles. However, we were completely surprised with the addition of films from the Criterion Collection, such as “Blood Simple,” “A Brighter Summer Day,” “The Rules of the Game,” “8 1/2” and others. These titles are not often found on in-flight entertainment offerings, so their inclusion was a big surprise and delight on long-haul flights. It’s not often you can watch “Chungking Express” or “In The Mood For Love” on a flight to Hong Kong.
The addition of those films was intentional, Downs explains. “We had several collections with ‘film lover’ organizations [like] Letterboxd, Criterion Channel and The Black List’ [and] we featured those collections to provide some additional diversity to our content offering and to give customers something they wouldn’t necessarily expect to see onboard,” she says.
That’s in addition to partnering with “most of the major movie studios to add fresh content monthly,” she continues, adding that “Our curation team works with them and other partners to ensure customers can enjoy the very best content onboard.” Downs says Delta is now also curating from film festivals to provide an even wider selection of movies onboard.
Meanwhile, while other airlines are taking away seatback screens and asking customers to use their own mobile devices, Delta is upgrading their own touchscreens with intelligent 4K HDR QLED displays for vivid and sharp picture quality, as well as built-in Bluetooth connectivity for wireless headphones, and new “do not disturb” features for more comfortable flights. As part of Delta Sync, the company says aircrafts are now also outfitted with stronger and faster WiFi (free for T-Mobile subscribers) and able to accommodate more entertainment and experience options from Paramount+, YouTube, Crunchyroll, American Express, Spotify, Atlas Obscura, Resy and other brands and services, so you can hit the ground running when you arrive at your destination.
“We’re doubling down on that seatback investment with the coming next-gen Delta Sync seatback platform, which will truly transform the inflight viewing experience,” Downs explains. “We’re continuing to look for ways to lead the industry in IFE, not just in the number of our seatback screens but in the quality and richness of our overall experience.”
While Delta is seemingly leading the pack with the best in-flight entertainment options — thanks to their wide selection of movies, TV shows, music and playlists, audiobooks, podcasts, games, live TV, kids entertainment and much more — it hopes that the wider implementation of Delta Sync will make customer flights smoother and easier, while allowing the airline company to continue to set the bar high.
“A big part of what makes Delta stand out today is our commitment to personalization across the entire customer journey,” says Downs. “One of our guiding principles is blending smart technology with the warmth of our team to deliver experiences that feel tailored, relevant and meaningful.”